MEMPHIS, TN- A tragic incident unfolded in Memphis when a 2-year-old boy was found lifeless in his home, allegedly after being physically abused by his mother’s boyfriend. The toddler, identified as Anthony Bakare, was discovered unresponsive early Monday morning in the Oakville neighborhood. According to police reports, the child was not breathing, had blood in his mouth, and was covered in bruises.
Emergency medical personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene, where they initiated CPR and rushed the child to the hospital. Despite their best efforts, young Bakare did not survive. Meanwhile, police officers at the scene interviewed the boy’s mother and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Anthony Andrews.
The mother stated that she had last seen her son healthy around 11:15 p.m. the previous night. She had then gone to bed, leaving Andrews in charge of the child. She admitted to the police that Andrews had a history of disciplining her son, often using a belt or a braided dog toy. She also mentioned noticing “excessive bruising and wounds” on her son, but Andrews had dismissed her concerns, attributing the injuries to the child falling out of bed.
Andrews, during his interaction with the investigators, reportedly confessed to hitting the toddler multiple times with a braided dog toy on his back, face, and buttocks. He also admitted to hitting the child with a belt a few weeks prior, acknowledging that he had hit the child “harder than he should have.” He also confessed to slapping the toddler and pushing him into a corner before putting him back to bed. According to Andrews, the child fell out of bed a few minutes later and was unresponsive.
Following these revelations, Andrews was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect. His sister, Britnee Andrews, however, defended him, describing him as a hard-working individual who loved children. She insisted that her brother’s actions were not responsible for the toddler’s death.
Britnee Andrews argued that her brother was fond of the child, despite not being his biological father, and would never harm him. She admitted that her brother had disciplined the toddler but denied that it was excessive. She also expressed her disbelief in the charges against her brother, stating she would not accept them until the autopsy results were released.